Shooting victim faces rape allegation

POULSBO — A man who was shot early Sunday during a birthday party at a Moorgate Place home was booked into jail Monday on suspicion of second-degree rape.

After the homeowner's live-in fiancée took the alleged rape victim, a 44-year-old woman, to Harrison Medical Center in Bremerton to be examined, an argument broke out at the home at about 3:30 a.m.

The homeowner, who was much smaller than the rape suspect, felt threatened and shot him with a handgun, which another guest had brought, unloaded and stashed in a safe place, according to Kitsap County sheriff's spokesman Scott Wilson. The homeowner knew where the gun was and retrieved it when he felt threatened.

Deputies questioned and released the shooter at the home, determining the shooting was justified. The final determination will be up to the county prosecutor. The alleged rapist, a 32-year-old Bremerton man, was taken to Harrison in Bremerton. He's now in Kitsap County Jail with bail of $100,000.